Luis vs Ace, Part 3

"H-how can this be?!" Ace cries. "I'm stronger than you, how are you overpowering me?!"

"You said it yourself!" I shout. "You know that King doesn't truly care about you! You'd give up your life for him, but he'll never do the same for you! But for me…it's different. I don't care if Nick only wanted me for my power, because at the end of the day…he's the man who gave his life for me! So no matter how much you try and twist or misconstrue Nick's actions, one thing will always remain the same…NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, NICK WILL ALWAYS BE ON MY SIDE! AND HE'S GIVING ME THE STRENGTH TO DEFEAT YOU NOW! EVEN IF YOU'RE FIGHTING FOR KING, YOU'RE FIGHTING FOR YOURSELF IN THIS BATTLE, ACE!" I roar.

"Nick."

"Ella."

"Mr. Kittles."

"Mom."

"Gabby."

"Grover."

"Daniel."

"Jamie."

"Austin."

"Dad."

"Mikey…"

"I'M FIGHTING FOR THEIR SAKE, ALL FOR THEM! I'M FIGHTING SO THAT I CAN SEE THEM ALL SMILE, EVEN IF IT'S JUST ONE LAST TIME!"

With a roar, my dark blue Cursed Power explodes outwards, fully dominating Ace's own light blue Cursed Power, in a rush of Cursed Power so strong and so bright that I can't even see. All I can feel is the scorching agony from the overuse of my Cursed Power and slash wounds from my battle with Ace. When the explosion subsides, and I can see again…I see Ace lying on the ground on his back dozens of feet away from me. Underneath Ace…is a giant pool of blood.

I've won.

I pant heavily as I limp over to Ace. Once in front of him, I stare down at Ace, blood and fatigue almost fully clouding my vision. Ace stares back up at me, in as bad of a shape as I am, no…maybe a little better. Ace pants heavily as well in shaking, ragged breaths. He doesn't have much more time. And quite frankly…neither do I. I was forced out of my half demon form fatigue, except for one major difference. After awakening my half demon form, I had a white streak in my hair. After Nick's death, that white streak spread into the entire right half of my hair turning white. And now…three quarters of my hair remain white, even outside of my half demon form.

"You've won…Luis Tra-" Ace begins to say, but is interrupted when he lets out a violent, painful cough, coughing out a glob of blood all over himself. "What will you do now?" Ace asks as he turns to face me, once he's finished with his coughing fit.

I don't reply. I just stare at Ace, panting heavily. I can hardly stand, much less talk.

After killing Nick, I vowed to myself never to let anger get the best of me ever again, never to kill anyone else. Killing Nick was the worst thing I've ever done and the worst thing that I will ever do. It really…fucked me up and it screwed up the people around me, too. Going into his fight, I didn't want to kill you. You were right, Ace. No… Lance Ashford. You may have done horrible things to me and the people I love, but it hurts too much knowing that -if our ages were reversed- you would be standing where I am, and I would be laying down at your feet," I say. "But you made one crucial mistake."

"And what may that be, Luis?" Ace croaks.

I lift my katana high above my head, as the veins of my arms begin to glow blue.

"You killed my cat, you son of a bitch."

And then I bring my katana down upon the back of Ace's neck.

***

"Woah, what's happening in there?!" Grover cries as he teleports up to Ella and Jamie, as Austin approaches the two women as well. The three watch in horror as the Temple of the Almighty Torch explodes, then goes up in flames. Pitch black flames.

"Mikey is fighting King in there, isn't he?" Jamie asks,

"Mikey…" Ella softly says to herself. "What did you do…"

The four are then interrupted when they hear a second explosion, this one from the side, and turn to see an even larger explosion of various shades of blue Cursed Power echo across the forest.

"Is that…Luis?" Grover asks.

"Just how strong has he gotten…" Austin marvels.

A few moments later, the four Pro Slayers see Daniel limp out of the ruins of the Temple of the Almighty Torch, dragging an unconscious King and Queen behind him.

"Where's Mikey?!" Ella cries as she rushes over to Daniel, who shakes his head in response.

"He's gone," Daniel answers. "But judging by the trail of blood I saw, he couldn't have gotten far."

"Why would Mikey run away after beating King?" Jamie asks.

"I don't know why, but Mikey attacked Luis! That wound that Luis had when Ace brought him to us, is from Mikey almost killing him! But Mikey wouldn't do such a thing without a reason, he must have-" Ella cries as she turns around to face Grover, Jamie, and Austin, but Daniel cuts her off.

Michael Hakan is the enemy," Daniel says, causing Ella to spin around to face him, with tears in her eyes. "You feel that, don't you?" Daniel asks. "The extra abundance of Cursed Power in the atmosphere all of a sudden? The trembling ground? The portal to Hell has opened, all thanks to Michael Hakan."

"But why would Mikey do such a thing?!" Grover cries.

"We-we'll have to ask Luis…" Ella sniffles.

"So is that it? We're doomed?" Jamie sadly asks.

Daniel shakes his head. "No, not yet," he answers. "The portal to Hell will open, but only from a week from now. Alert the Chairman of the Slayer Organization. We'll need all the time possible to prepare."

"The final battle is among us, but we'll be ready."

***

I let out a small groan as my eyes slowly flutter open. I'm barely able to get a word out before Ella tackles me in the chest, hugging me tightly.

"You're awake…thank god…" Ella whispers into my chest.

"What…happened…?" I groan. But when I remember one very crucial detail, my eyes widen as I swiftly sit up. "Ace, Lance Ashford, wha-" I begin to shout, but I'm cut off when the Chairman enters the room.

"He's dead," the Chairman answers. "You killed him."

Ella lets go of me and sheepishly turns away. She looks saddened by the news, I don't blame her.

"Oh…" I sadly answer as I turn away as well. I'm disgusted with myself. But at the same time, I feel…oddly proud?

Am I fucked up?

"What happened with Mikey?" I ask as I turn to face the Chairman.

"He disappeared," the Chairman answers. "We don't have enough manpower to go after him now, and quite frankly; we don't need to. We have more important matters on our hands."

"The Cards of the King?" I ask.

"Arrested," the Chairman answers. "Other than Lance Asfhord and Joy Quinn, who are dead. Lance Ashford's body was nowhere to be found, however. Head included."

"The Portal to Hell?" I ask.

"It's been opened," the Chairman answers. "We have five days until the extinction of humanity."

"Daniel?" I ask.

"You mean the honorary Slayer Kama?" The Chairman replies with a smirk, causing my expression to brighten, just a smidge. "For this war, at least."

"So what happens now?" I ask.

"You get your ass out of bed!" The Chairman matter-of-factly booms, as if I had asked the dumbest question in the world, causing my eyes to widen. "We have a lot of work today, and you're at the center of it."

"Slayer Fūjin."

***

"Hah…hah…hah…"

Mikey pants heavily as he walks aimlessly through the woods. Well…"walking" is a bit of a stretch. "Hobbling" would be a better adjective used here. MIkey's entire body is destroyed after his fight against King, especially with Mikey's attempts to destroy the meteor or shatter King's Black Prism. Mikey's muscles are torn to shreds, his bones are snapped, and his body is soaked with blood. A thick blood trail marks Mikey's path from the Temple of the Almighty Torch to where he is now.

"I can't…go back to civilization…" Mikey pants. "I'll be labeled as a criminal, I'd never get away. I need to find a palace to hide until my wounds can recover-"

Mikey is interrupted when he crumbles to the ground, his legs unable to support his weight.

"Damn…it…" Mikey grunts as his vision grows spotty.

Mikey's eyes then flutter closed, but when all hope seems lost, a figure appears before him, approaching Mikey from out of the shrubbery of the jungle before him.

"War…" Mikey mumbles. "War of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse…"

"You look like you can use some help," War smirks as she kneels down before Mikey.

And then…everything goes dark.

***

***

Knock knock knock.

The Chairman hears a series of knocks on his office door.

"Come in," the Chairman says, not looking up from his paperwork.

A woman opens the door to the Chairman's office and steps inside. She approaches the Chairman's desk and remains standing up rather than standing down. The Chairman doesn't draw his eyes away from his paperwork until the woman clears her throat and lets out a small "ahem," causing the Chairman to flinch.

"Ah, Slayer Kurāken, how nice of you to stop by!" The Chairman greets as he peers up at the woman standing before him. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing good, better than ever in fact, thank you for asking," Slayer Kurāken answers.

"Well that's odd considering we're about to go to war," the Chairman replies with an awkward chuckle. "Now if you'd excuse me, I have a lot of paperwork to get back to regarding our recent conf-"

Kurāken cuts the Chairman off.

"It's funny," Kurāken begins to say. "I've been working here for…oh, I don't know…over a decade now, and you've never suspected a thing."

"Hmm?" The Chairman asks as he peers up from his paperwork again. "Did you say something?"

"You just willingly accepted my abundance of demon-related research without doing so much as a simple background check," Kurāken continues. "You never questioned my past, my confidentiality, or how I have such knowledge of demons. You just shoved all thoughts of distrust and doubt about me to the side because I provided results."

"Of course I trust you, you're my head of the Slayer Organization's Research Branch!" The Chairman exclaims.

"Your downfall is that you gave me such free range as the head of the Research Branch," Kurāken replies. "You thought that I wouldn't be able to get away with anything fishes with me under your close supervision, but that just made it easier to earn your trust and use your technology for my goals."

"You've been the head of the Slayer Organization's Research Branch for a decade now and you still look as beautiful as ever!" The Chairman laughs, causing Kurāken to roll her eyes.

"You gave me the order to create artificial half demon super weapons, but the truth is; I was already planning on making an army of them for myself," Kurāken continues. "Did you ever question how I managed to create them so quickly? I already had them built!"

"What are you getting at, Slayer Kurāken?" The Chairman growls.

"Don't call me by that name anymore!" Kurāken snaps.

"Then what should I call you?" The Chairman asks. "You never gave me your name…"

Kurāken reaches up and pulls her glasses off, before turning back to the Chairman with a sadistic smirk. "Famine," Kurāken answers.

"Famine of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

The Chairman's eyes widen.

"I'm just here to let you know that I quit," Famine continues. "The portal to Hell has already been opened, so I don't need to play the facade as "Slayer Kurāken" anymore, nor do I need your funds or equipment for my research. I've already moved my half demon army to my own accord, as well as created my masterpiece. Your Pro Slayers or my children…let's see which side comes out on top."

With that dramatic introduction, Famine spins around and begins exiting the Chairman's office. But Famine is interrupted when the lights above her begin flickering, as Famine hears the buzz of electricity crackling behind her. Famine then turns around, seeing the Chairman zipping towards her as fast as lightning, and with his entire body electrified like Nick Boras.

"Kurāken…YOU TRAIOR!" The Chairman roars as he aims an electrified punch towards Famine, who counters by aiming her right hand at the Chairman. Instantly, Famine's right pointer finger sprouts into a giant red tentacle and flies towards the Chairman, wrapping around him and keeping him bound in place. Famine's tentacle squeezes the Chairman's chest so tightly that he spits up blood.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Famine clicks her tongue at the Chairman and wiggles a non- tentacle finger. "Is this how you react to your employees quitting?"

"I thought…the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were trapped in Hell?" The Chairman grunts.

"Oh, I figured Luis Tramomtana and his friends would have told you?" Famine replies.

"Told me what?" The Chairman asks, while struggling to breathe.

"Us Four Horsemen are already in this world," Famine explains. "It's just our "true power" that isn't. Since the amount of Cursed Power currently present in the atmosphere is far less than the old demon-ruled world, or Hell, we don't have access to our full powers. Which is why we needed the portal to Hell to open before making our move."

"What does this have to do with Slayer Hachi's Squad?" The Chairman grunts.

"Well they were already confronted by War and Death's son, I'm just surprised that they didn't mention it to you," Famine shrugged. "Probably because of the whole "Blue Demon assassination" thing."

Famine then turns around and drops the Chairman to the ground, as her tentacle reverts back into her right pointer finger. "What, you're not going to stop me?" Famine asks as she pauses and looks over her shoulder at the Chairman.

"There's no point…" The Chairman answers, gasping for breath. The Chairman then tilts his head up and leers at Famine with a murderous gleam in his eyes. "You'll be killed on the battlefield in one week."

Famine smirks back at the Chairman. "Cocky, are we?" She asks, before leaving the Chairman's office for good.